Florida Gators head coach Will Muschamp has chosen Jeff Dillman as his team’s new strength and conditioning coordinator, the University of Florida announced on Tuesday.

Two sources close to the program told OGGOA last month that Dillman was considered a top candidate for the position and the likely successor to Mickey Marotti.

The former director of strength and conditioning at Appalachian State, Dillman met Muschamp when both were assistants at LSU. The former was a strength coach, while the latter was a linebackers coach and later a defensive coordinator under Nick Saban.

“What I like about Coach Muschamp is his intensity and his fire and his directness,” Dillman said. “That’s the same way I coach. I believe in coaching kids. I don’t believe in crossing your arms and putting your hands in your pockets. I’m a big, big believer in if you coach them hard in the weight room, and you coach them hard in running, when they get out on that field, it’s easy for them. It’s all about eliminating that gray area.”

During his three years at LSU, he worked with teams that have won BCS National Championships, competed in the Final Four and played in the College World Series.

“The strength coach is such an important part of your program,” Muschamp said in a school release. “Jeff has a championship pedigree. He’s been a part of several championship teams and that’s what we’re trying to be here at the University of Florida. He is my voice in the weight room when the coaches can’t have contact with the players. It’s very important for someone to share the same philosophies and approach as I do on how to build a championship program.”

[EXPAND Click to expand and read the remainder of this story.]He played football at Elon and Appalachian State and also served as an assistant strength coach at Louisiana-Monroe before taking the job at his alma mater. He has worked since 2009 as the head of physical conditioning at IMG Performance Institute.

In addition to earning bachelor’s of science degrees from Elon (exercise science) and Appalachian State (exercise science, concentration strength & conditioning), Dillman is in progress of completing a master’s of education from Louisiana-Monroe.

He is also a member of the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association (CSCCa) and American Football Coaches Association (AFCA).

Dillman does not, however, hold the Master of Strength and Conditioning classification that Marotti did, which made the former Florida assistant one of only 100 strength trainers in the country who possess that designation.

Muschamp and Dillman will also look to replace Florida’s former assistant director for strength and conditioning (football) Scott Holsopple, who left the program to take the top job at Kansas, according to CoachingSearch.com.

VIDEOS: Jeff Dillman speaks to the Manatee High School football team (1–2–3–4–5–6)

I think it is a good hire. Muschamp may be a little old-school in the way he does things, but there is no flaws in him when it comes to football IQ and knowledge of the game. Muschamp knows football in and out from every angle. He has already hired excellent coaches, and I believe this is his next great hire. This guys seems to be a fiery guys who will get in the player’s faces in the weight room and also most of all, appears to be a guy that really wants to work hard and win.

Thanks for the heads up on this earlier Adam. I hope this will be an improvement, Marottii seemed a little burnt out the last couple years. Maybe change will be good for both coaches. We need leaders in the weight room, hopefully Dillman can make that happen.

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